TORT
REFORM FACT V. FICTION (PART 3)
FICTION: Medical
malpractice litigation is forcing doctors out of practice.
FACT: There
are currently 307 physicians per 100,000 people in the United States. Since 1990, the number of physicians has
increased 40 percent while the U.S. populations seen an increase of 18
percent. The number of doctors licensed in the United
States grows each year, and is far outpacing population growth.
FICTION:
Medical malpractice is driving
physicians out of states without damage caps.
FACT: The number of physicians in every state has
increased, and there are actually more doctors in states without damage
caps. In the vast majority of states,
the increase in physicians has either matched or outpaced population growth. No data has been provided to support the
theory that capping non-economic damages helps states attract or retain
physicians.
FICTION: Damage caps lower doctors’ medical
malpractice insurance rates.
FACT: If
damages are capped, insurance companies pay out less money for awards, but they
will no pass those savings to doctors in the form of lower premiums. As pointed out on www.tortreformtruth.com
the strongest example of this is in Texas.
Texas passed a restrictive damages cap in 2003. Despite the enactment of the damages cap GE
Medical Protective told the Texas Insurance Commissioner that caps had a
negligible impact on rates while announcing a 19 percent increase in doctors’
premiums.
GE Medical Protective acknowledged that
“non-economic damages are a small percentage of losses paid. Capping non-economic damages will show loss
savings of 1.0 percent.” The president
of the American Insurance Association has said that “we have not promised price
reductions with tort reform.”
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